My poor analogy for the assembly

[YP0534]

In the entire world, there is only one McDonald's corporation. This is the universal aspect of McDonald's. Universal. Corporate.

At the same time, there are thousands and thousands of local McDonald's retaurants, probably one very near to you. Each of them is locally owned and operated.

Now, it is true that all of the McDonald's restaurants originated in a single McDonald's restaurant long ago. In a sense, when you go into any McDonald's, you are going into the one unique original McDonald's. They still sell the same hamburger and cheeseburger as they always did.

But there are a couple of things to recognize about the arrangement of McDonald's.

First of all, there is no such thing as a universal McDonald's restaurant. The very concept is nonsensical.

Secondly, if you want a hamburger, even if you can find the McDonald's corporation, they don't have any hamburgers there. If you want a hamburger, you must go to your local restaurant.

I understand that the analogy is not quite right in some of the implied details but I'm only making a point in it.

The reason the assembly is so important is that it is practical. Obviously, the Body is something universal but when we try to take something that is inherently local and make it into a universal meaning, we're missing the point of it's being local in the first place. The very God of the universe is to be found on display in the assemblies of the saints. If you take those verses that say "assembly" and "universalize" them, you miss the whole point of the thing being something about practical assembling and deprive yourself of the light on God's purpose among us in our meetings.

We don't want to ignore that the Lord, as the Head, has His Body. Far from it! Instead, we want to put the full emphasis on the fact the assembly IS His Body, the fullness of the One who fills all in all.

I hope this could help you.

Grace be with your spirit.